Saying Goodbye
by DreamingCerulean
Summary: Calypso could remember all of the several millennia that made up her life. She could remember every person and decision that had changed her life. But she didn't care about any of that. She could only focus on the dying face of the one person who truly mattered to her. Everyone else had left her, but Leo was the one who had stayed the longest.


**A/N: Hello, I am Blue. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians.**

Calypso's POV

I had lived for a long time.

That fact wasn't really surprising. After all, when someone got to be my age, this was something that many would say.

Along with that statement came various truths. One of them being, that I had seen many, many, many things throughout the course of my life. That was also true. There was nothing to be denied about that.

I could remember the very beginnings of my life, when nothing seemed as complicated. I looked back on those days with fondness. Then, it was just me and my family, playing in the sun, and exploring the world that I had been brought into. A soft smile crossed my face. I missed that feeling. The feeling that everything was okay, completely okay, and that the future would be alright too.

But then…

The First Titan War. I had not wanted to get involved. I had wanted to just spend my days in peace, like I supposed much of the immortal population also desired. But I was given no choice. I had to pick a side. Since I had no real ties to the godly world, I followed my father. I didn't even do anything for the war. I just identified as to being on his side.

But his side lost, and by default, I was one of the so called traitors. And that meant that I was not worthy enough to have freedom in a godly world.

I could remember them debating on what to do to them. Tear tracks streaming down my face, being chained to the floor as beings much larger than me debated my father's fate, and then mine.

They had been kind. They had given me mercy, had given me pity, had given me hope.

I was sent to my island. By then, time seemed to be passing much paster. I was older then, and I had understood that my days in happiness were over. Yet I still tried. I did my best to make as much happiness as I could on that little island. I had built what I could with my two hands, and took the help of the wind spirits that had followed me.

The one thing I didn't account for was human interaction. I had not realized that the one drawback to this punishment was complete isolation. I knew nothing of the outside world.

Occasionally, one of the olympian gods would arrive to speak with me. Hermes usually came with news of the outside world. He always complained of how busy he was, but yet he still made time for me. I was touched by that.

Hephaestus came too. I don't really know why. Perhaps it was just for conversation. He told me of what he was making, and told me stories about his children. He said he was awkward around other people, but he seemed just fine when he was talking to me. I supposed it was comfort levels, that he was more comfortable talking to me than many of the people in the outside world.

But even then, they had to leave. They were gods, after all. I couldn't expect them to stay forever.

Then they sent the mortals. At first, I thought that they were attempting to make my punishment better. After all, it had been quite some time since the Titan War.

They all washed up from the sea. They laughed with me, and worked with me, and eventually, they charmed their way into my heart.

I remembered every single one of their faces. I remember their names, their smiles, their laughter. I remember the sound of their voices as we spoke.

Only after the sixth person had left me did I realize the true nature of my punishment. They all had someone. I didn't. Just when I thought that they could be the someone for me, the raft would appear to take them away from me. And they all would leave. There was always something.

A war, or a significant other, or friends. I was not someone they valued enough to stay.

I wasn't good enough for anyone to love.

Aphrodite had appeared to me one day, after I had called her. I had wanted to know if there was any hope for me. She was the goddess of love. She should have known.

But she didn't. Or at least, she couldn't tell me. There was nothing I could do, and there was nothing she could do.

She had kissed me on the forehead and I wiped away my tears. She had promised me that it would get better.

I hadn't believed her.

Then, it was Percy. I don't think that he had ever thought of me as more than a friend. He was stupidly oblivious in that way. I had healed him, taken care of him, and had gotten my heart broken for what felt like the millionth time.

He was sweet, he was kind. He had tried to help me. But he also held someone else in a higher light. For him, it was Annabeth. And his responsibility to fight in the coming war.

I prayed that he would win his fight. He didn't deserve to face the wrath of the titans if he lost. He was too good for that. He had told me that all he wanted was to be in peace with his friends and family.

I had wished him the best of luck, and truly meant it.

I had never felt so alone after he left. By this time, it had been almost three thousand years since I had last been free.

I had looked around at my home with what had felt like new eyes. Three thousand years had been a long time. Would I ever be free?

I didn't know the answer to that one.

And then… Leo Valdez. I had hated him when he had first appeared to me. I had never wanted to see him again.

But that wasn't how the island's curse worked, and once again, I found myself falling for another hero. He was amazing. He wasn't strong, like many of the others, but he was different. I had heroes who arrived with strengths in music or in intellect rather than brute force. Leo wasn't any of those. That wasn't to call Leo stupid or weak. It was more as if Leo had those and another quality that I hadn't found yet.

Only after he had left would I realize.

He was like me. He had overcome battles much worse than what a demigod would normally face, and he still managed to smile everyday. I found companionship in him. He had also been lonely.

We had more in common than I had originally thought, and that was what lead me to fall for him.

I loved him for Leo because he was the only one who had bothered to try and come back. He had left me, but he had also tried and succeeded to come back.

Because of this, I loved and valued him the most.

But Leo didn't work that way. He had no list of important people. He valued everyone the same, and raised them all to the highest light. The only person he didn't value as much as the others was himself.

And that was what I imagined my purpose to be. To show Leo that every now and then, he deserved to be the one cared for and loved.

It brought warm feelings to my heart, and the ghost of a smile danced across my lips.

I loved him.

I leaned back into the hard plastic of the chair I was sitting on and crossed my legs. The air around me was filled with tension, and I could feel the fear rising within me as well. That made sense. People didn't come here without reason. And I had a terrible reason to be here.

"Valdez!" A voice called, bringing me out of my thoughts. I glanced at the person in the doorway before standing up.

As I approached the nurse, I felt the anxiety rise.

"Follow me," He whispered. I glanced back at the hospital's waiting my room before turning my back on it. I had no more business here. Someone more important needed me, and I would not let him wait any more than I possibly could.

The nurse led me through the white hallways, through a twisting maze of walkways and rooms. I barely remembered anything. Just the figure of the nurse who led me as I followed close behind.

He stopped at a room, opening the door.

"Here. You can fill out paperwork later," He said. He understood.

I gave a silent nod of thanks before entering the room. I didn't see him at first, only the bed and all the equipment beside it.

I stepped closer, making out the face of Leo. He was silent in the bed, except for the heavy breathing. His face was peaceful, and his eyes were closed.

The heart monitor beeped quietly in the background. I silently thanked the gods that he was still alive.

"Leo…" I murmured. Quietly, I pulled a chair over from the corner of the room, and sat down. I reached for his hand, grasping it tightly.

My vision started to blur, and with my free hand, I rubbed viciously at my eyes. I couldn't focus on tears now.

I don't remember how long I sat there and stared at his face. I knew that it must have been several hours, but when Leo finally opened his eyes, it felt like only seconds had passed.

"Hey," He said. His voice was quiet and weak, but it was still his.

"Hi," I said, swallowing back tears. He lifted his other hand and rested it on top of mine. We both knew of the severity of this situation. A couple of moments passed where we both attempted to figure out what to say.

"It's going to be okay," He said. I shook my head, a couple of tears spilling over onto my cheeks. He was the one dying, and yet he was reassuring me.

"No. It won't be," I said. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards, and I could see the familiar spark in his eyes as he looked at me. "What am I supposed to do when you're gone?" I asked, my voice cracking.

* * *

 _Leo had taken me to one of the mortal coffee shops. He claimed that it would be a date. He had ordered for me, and had gotten me a sweet herbal tea._

" _You'll love it," He said. "At least I think you will." For himself, he had ordered hot chocolate._

 _The quiet little place overlooked the water, and I watched the boats sail by as Leo collected our drinks. The mortal world had progressed much more than what I was expected. From what I remembered of my time before imprisonment, mortals were struggling to live longer than thirty. Now, they had increased their lifespan by almost fifty years._

 _They had come up with technology beyond what I had ever dreamed of seeing, and they had done it without magic._

 _And yet they walked through the earth as if this was normal. It was amazing. They acted as if these were not miracles._

 _A boat sped through the water, leaving a white trail behind. Buildings reached toward the sky, all sparkling in the bright sunlight. A thousand people all living their lives together in this big city._

 _Leo arrived at the table, placing a cup down in front of me._

" _Here," He said. He drank his drink quietly and watched me. I lifted it to my mouth and took a cautious sip._

 _Immediately, I regretted it. It was terribly sweet. I despised this drink. I swallowed and almost voiced my complaint to Leo before realizing that he had ordered it for me_

 _I couldn't tell him that I hated it._

" _It's great," I said. It sounded like a complete lie to me, and it was, but Leo brightened up. He smiled._

" _Awesome!" He said. "I knew you'd like it."_

 _I looked back down at the drink, and forced myself to take another sip. Gods above I hated this._

" _What does yours taste like?" I asked. I was genuinely curious. He seemed to like his a lot more than I liked mine._

" _It's a bit sweet?" He said. "I don't really know how to describe it. It's chocolate, but melted."_

" _That is not a good enough description. I have not had chocolate before." I said._

 _Leo almost spit out his drink. "What?" He said._

" _I knew of it, and I think Hermes might have brought me some almost a thousand years ago, but I don't remember it's taste."_

" _I think it's safe to say you've never had chocolate. A thousand years is a long time. Here, take a sip." Leo said._

 _He offered me his drink. I took it._

" _Careful," He said. "It's a bit hot." I blew softly against the warm brown drink, watching the ripples for on the surface. Steam drifted gracefully from the top, and I breathed it in._

 _I took a sip, and looked up at Leo. "Mine," I said, clutching the cup closer to me._

" _Hey, no fair!" He said, chuckling._

 _I smirked at him, and took another sip from the cup. It was warm, and I could feel the slight chill from the cold weather lifting away._

 _He snatched my drink. "If you take mine then I'm taking yours," He threatened playfully._

 _I raised an eyebrow at him, and he took a drink._

" _Ugh," He said after swallowing. "This is awful. You liked this?" He asked._

 _I shook my head, slowly, thinking for a second. There was honestly no contest between the two, but I didn't want to lie to him either._

" _I like this much more," I said. I nodded to myself, satisfied with my answer. It was truthful, but not the complete truth._

 _He smiled back at me. "Then I guess I'm stuck with this one."_

 _I stood up, walking up to the counter, and retrieved two straws. I handed Leo one._

" _How about we share this one instead?" I said._

* * *

"You are strong, Calypso," He said. I felt shivers run down my spine. Soon. I would never be able to hear his voice again. "You'll be alright."

"I don't want you to go," I said. I knew that it was childish, but I couldn't help myself. He was leaving me.

"All mortals have to go eventually. It's just my time." He said. I hated the acceptance in his voice. There must be something left that we could do to save him.

He reached out towards my face. I rested my cheek against his warm hand. "I don't like it when you're sad," He whispered. "It's going to be okay."

* * *

 _I dragged Leo across the street and to the nearby park._

" _Gimme a second!" He said, struggling to keep up with me. The picnic basket was banging awkwardly against his leg as we walked through the city._

" _Why are we in such a hurry?" He asked, a grin on his face._

" _No reason," I said, still tugging him along._

 _He shook free and ran a couple of steps to keep up._

 _The day was perfect, and I had dragged him away from the forge at Camp Half Blood so he could enjoy it. There would be time at the forge later. Who knew how long the sunny day would last._

 _I found a spot almost immediately. It was near one of the playgrounds close to one of the few lakes._

 _I spread the blanket out and pulled the sandwiches out of the basket.._

" _Peanut butter and jelly, huh?" Leo teased._

" _It's amazing," I said. He chuckled and laid back on the carpet._

" _It's not good to eat like that," I warned._

" _I've survived living to the age of twenty, and a war between the Giants and the Gods, Calypso. If I die because I choked on a peanut butter sandwich, I give you permission to punch the living daylights out of me when we get into the underworld."_

 _I laughed, and leaned back with him. I supposed this wasn't too bad of a risk to take._

 _We stared up at the sky and the trees above us. I soaked in the warm sunlight. This was nice. It was amazing to relax out in this mortal world without any major stress._

 _Someone started screaming in the background._

 _I jolted up, Leo right behind me, before he laughed and grabbed my hand._

" _Look," He said. Over at the park, a couple of kids were chasing each other. One of them jumped off of a platform and landed on the ground, before taking off running again._

 _I breathed a sigh of relief. They were just playing. No one was injured._

 _Leo and I watched them run around._

 _Eventually, we had to pack up our picnic. We walked through the park, taking in the fresh air and sounds of the park. The birds above us chirped and flew from tree to tree._

 _I was reminded of the birds back on Ogygia. They had stayed their year round, unlike some of the birds in the mortal worlds. They were how I had gotten a bit closer to Leo. His hammering for his seeing device had scared them away, and I had used it as a reason to speak with him._

 _I reached into the picnic basket and pulled out a packet of dried breadcrumbs, before scattering it on the ground. A few birds flew down, grabbing them in their beaks._

 _I wondered if they had families. It wasn't exactly spring, so the babies would be able to fly. I wondered if the parents still lived with the children, or if the baby birds had gone on to forge a new life for themselves._

 _Maybe they were somewhere else, getting ready for the journey south. It was getting cooler in the year, and the warmer weather was probably hundreds of miles south from here._

 _Maybe they would start their own family, and have their own children._

 _I looked up at the clouds. In the morning, there were only a few of them which had hovered quietly in the corner of the sky. They had taken over, and covered everything as far as eye could see._

 _It started drizzling slightly, and we decided to start walking back._

 _About halfway there, it started pouring. Leo yelped and we ran back to the apartment. We got inside and closed the door. We were both completely soaked._

 _I smiled, and started laughing. Leo followed. When we had first arrived in the mortal world, I had been fascinated with the rain. Like Camp Half Blood, the weather around Ogygia was almost always sunshine. I got clouds, but never rain._

 _It had been thousands of years since I had seen rain, and I was happy to see it again._

 _Thunder boomed outside the window, and the lights flickered._

" _Let's change out of these clothes," Leo said. I nodded._

 _Once dressed in warm clothes, we sat on the couch in silence, merely enjoying the others company._

" _Leo," I said. "Do you think that we could have children of our own?" I paused quietly, watching his face as he thought of an answer._

" _I like that idea," He said cautiously. "But I want one condition from you."_

 _I nodded, willing to hear him out._

" _We need to adopt." His eyes glittered softly in the light, and I saw the seriousness in his face._

 _I had known his backstory, I had known how personal this was to him. He had been in various orphanages around the country. He had been adopted and abandoned by so many people. He had been hurt in the past, and he wanted to help someone else._

 _I imagined a little Leo, constantly aware that no one in the world would want him. He was different, and completely alone in the world. His own family hadn't wanted him. No one else in the world seemed to want him either._

" _I would love that," I said._

* * *

A few rebellious tears escaped my eyes and ran down my cheeks. Leo brushed a few of them away.

"I love you," He whispered. His voice was so quiet.

"I love you too," I replied back. It was an automatic answer, but I had always meant it.

"Do you think I'll be able to see you again?" I asked quietly.

Leo thought for a moment. "Maybe. I'd like to hope so. Maybe Hades will be nice to me. Who knows." He laughed, although it appeared to be a bit hard for him to do so.

"Look at all of this," He murmured. "I'm one of the seven demigods, and yet I can't even manage to breathe properly anymore…" He trailed off.

"Don't talk about yourself like that," I said. "You're amazing."

He smiled at me, and I felt my heart skip a beat.

"You're the one who's amazing,' He replied.

* * *

 _It had been during a trip to the mall when we first realized what was happening._

 _Lily, our adopted daughter, had asked if we could go as a family. Leo and I had agreed, and we were spending a quiet sunday out at a nearby mall._

 _We were in the food court. Lily and I were sharing some cheesy fries, while Leo devoured a hot dog._

 _A passerby approached us. "Pardon me for disturbing you," She said. "But your daughters are absolutely beautiful."_

 _Leo beamed. "Thank you," He said. The passerby moved on, and only then did the meaning of her words sink in._

" _Wait," I said. "Did she think that I was.. Your daughter?" Leo frowned for a second._

" _Maybe," he said. "I guess it just means that you look really young."_

 _We dismissed the comment, but I couldn't stop thinking about it. I did feel generally the same after all these years._

 _I pulled Leo aside once we got home._

" _Come with me," I said, leading him up into our bedroom. I pulled him close to the mirror, and compared our reflections._

" _We looked to be generally the same age when you freed me from Ogygia, correct?" I asked. Leo nodded, his brow furrowed as to where I was going with this._

 _I looked at him in the mirror. There were a few wrinkles on his face, and a couple of grey streaks in his curly hair._

 _I looked at myself. There was no sign that I had aged._

" _Leo…" I said. "I don't think that I'm aging."_

 _He looked in the mirror as well. Leo looked his age, he looked to be in his late forties. But me. I looked to be in my teenage years. Perhaps twenty five as my possible oldest._

" _Not… aging…" he repeated after me. I could see the worry in his eyes._

" _No, no, no, no," I said, tears welling up in my eyes. "This wasn't supposed to happen. I thought that I was going to lose the immortality when I left Ogygia."_

 _But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense._

 _I had been born with immortality. There wasn't a way for me to lose it. Zeus could take away immortality from deities temporarily, but they would never die._

 _I searched my mind for anything. I didn't want this._

 _I had wanted to live my life as a mortal, beside Leo. I wanted to grow old with him, I wanted to have a family with him, I wanted to die alongside him and spend eternity with him in the underworld._

 _We weren't supposed to end up being seperated like this._

 _I would never see him again once he died._

 _The final part of the gods' curse to me._

 _A couple of tears dripped off the end of my chin. I put my face in my palms, relishing the darkness they brought. There had to be a way to undo this._

 _Leo took my face in his hands, pushing my hands away._

" _Hey," He said. "It's going to be okay. We're going to figure this out."_

* * *

We sat in silence for a couple of moments. I listened to the outside world, to the cars honking out in the streets, to the voices of the people, to the birds chirping.

"Thank you," I said. "Thank you for freeing me."

"It was never a problem," He said. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat. You are everything to me."

I smiled at him, and leaned down to give him a hug. I felt safe in his arms, protected and happy. I didn't want to leave, but reluctantly, I drew back. I felt a pang of pain in my chest when I realized that would be the last hug I even got from him.

"Lily's trying to get here. Can you hold on until then?" I asked. I remembered how much she had been looking forward to next month. She was going to be spending some time with us. It didn't look like next month would be coming for us.

"Is she bringing the grandkids?" He asked. I nodded. "I don't know if I can last that long, but I'm going to try. If it's too late, tell Lily that I'm sorry, and that it wasn't her fault."

"Don't talk like that," I said. "You're going to make it."

We both knew that wasn't true.

* * *

 _We stood in front of the Olympian Council._

" _Please, Lord Zeus," I said. "Is there anything you can do about my immortality?"_

 _He ran his fingers through his beard, and glanced at the others in the room. I followed his glances._

" _I'm afraid not," He said. "I can't take immortality away permanently. No one can do that. We can only gift immortality. The only thing we can do is mask the age difference with the mist. You'll have to see Hecate for that."_

 _I nodded._

 _Leo and I walked out of the room, holding hands. As we were about to board the elevator on the way down, Aphrodite caught up with us._

" _I'm sorry that I cannot do anything," She said. "I am the goddess of love, but yet I cannot keep you two together beyond death. I can do one thing though,"_

 _She tapped two fingers against Leo's head and murmured a couple of words. He glowed pink for a moment, before it faded away._

" _I have blessed him with a long life," She said to me. "At least now you have more time together."_

 _We both thanked her before heading down._

 _Leo kissed my forehead and gave me a hug in the elevator._

" _We'll keep searching," He said._

 _That night, Hecate appeared in our living room, tendrils of mist swirling around her feet. She held her torches up to the light._

" _Hello," She said. "I have been told to come here by Aphrodite. She claimed it was urgent."_

 _I stood up from the couch, Leo right next to me. He laced his fingers with mine._

" _Hi," I said._

" _Calypso," She said. She smiled gently. "It has been quite some time since we have seen each other." I remembered seeing her all those years ago, before the First Titan War. We had sided on opposite sides of the war, but there had never been any hostile feelings between us._

 _We embraced, and she joined us on the sofa._

" _Do you think you could do anything about my immortality situation?" I asked her, explaining all the details, and telling her why I no longer wished to be immortal._

 _After I was done, she thought for a moment._

" _The best I can do with the mist is make you appear to be aging. It won't actually be real, but to all mortals, you will appear to be the same age as him. She gestured towards Leo. "Anyone who can see through the mist won't be tricked, however."_

 _She stood from the couch. "If I figue anything out, I will be sure to let you know. I have a couple of students to check on in England. Perhaps they have some knowledge on the subject."_

" _Thank you," I said, slightly disappointed._

 _She put a hand on my shoulder. "Good luck, Calypso. Until we meet again."_

* * *

"Tell the others hello for me, okay?" I said. It had been a couple of years since the other members of the seven had passed away. Leo was the last one left alive.

Everyone else was down in Elysium. Nico had said they were all happy, and I could only hope that Leo would be happy too.

"That's assuming that I make Elysium," He said.

"You will," I replied. "You're one of the seven. You saved the world. There's no doubt about it."

He nodded.

"I think I did alright this time around," He said. "I don't really have any regrets about anything."

"That's good," I said.

He looked up at the ceiling. "I can feel it coming. Is that strange? I know it's going to happen soon."

He looked over at me. "I don't want to die," He said.

I felt a part of my heart shatter. "I know," I said.

* * *

 _We had been together for so long now, almost seventy years. But despite all of these memories together, I knew that they would eventually be coming to an end soon._

 _I walked through the streets slowly, taking in the sights. Even after all of these years freed, I could never take any of these things for granted. I had walked home this way for many many many years, but it always seemed amazing to me._

 _Leo had decided to retire from our garage shop that we had opened up all those years ago. His hands were hurting too much to build as delicate things as he used to, and he couldn't move as quickly as before._

 _He was older. He hated it. Leo was the type of person to constantly be moving around, and to be confined in a body that didn't work as well as it used to was killing him inside._

 _But he found other pleasures. We spent more time out and about in the city, just walking through the streets and enjoying time together._

 _The days seemed to last longer._

 _Today was grocery day, and Leo usually came with me. Today, however, he had decided to stay back._

 _He hadn't felt well._

 _I grabbed a box of Leo's favorite candy, just to surprise him. We were planning on making tofu tacos tonight. He was looking forward to it, and I knew that I was too._

 _I had gone shopping without Leo before, but this time felt different. Like something was missing._

 _I shook it off and continued to walk home._

 _It seemed to take forever for me to get home. I was still walking at the same pace as before, but my thoughts distracted me._

 _Nevertheless, I eventually arrived at our apartment building. It was the same one as all those years ago, and I also found humor in the fact that it was such an old building right next to such shiny new ones._

 _I had complained about all the noise a couple of years ago, when they were building everything, but Leo had just smiled._

" _You said the same thing about me all those years ago when we were still on that island," He said. "Just imagine how many people are going to be starting their own lives like us in those new buildings."_

 _I didn't complain about the noise anymore after that._

 _I moved the bag of food to my hip as I fumbled with the locks. After a few tries, I got the door open, and pushed it in._

" _I'm home!" I shouted. There was no response._

 _That was strange. Usually he would at least reply. But there was nothing._

 _I stepped through the house, making my way towards the kitchen. I entered the room and immediately dropped the bag, produce spilling out and rolling in several different directions._

 _Leo was sprawled out on the floor. He wasn't moving._

 _Everything after that passed in a blur. I had called the ambulance like Leo had told me too all those years ago._

 _People spoke to me, but I don't remember what I said._

 _All I remembered were the bright flashing lights and clutching the box of candy as the ambulance took him away._

* * *

I planted a kiss on his forehead.

"You're going to be okay too." I could feel the tears rising up again, but I blinked them back. "All our friends are down there. You won't be alone."

He nodded. "But you won't be with me."

"I will see you again one day," I promised.

"I love you forever," He said.

"Me too," I replied.

Leo closed his eyes. "Can you sing for me?" He asked, voice slurring slightly. "I'm feeling a bit tired." Tears rolled down my cheeks and I nodded, even though he couldn't see me.

I hummed quietly, watching his face. He was so peaceful. I tried to memorize his features, the way it felt to be near him, his warm hands.

I rested my forehead against his, and tried to imagine that I didn't know the exact moment his breathing stopped.

 **A/N: Thank you for reading, and please review!**

 **Published: January 28th, 2018**

 **Edited: February 3rd, 2018**


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